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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

IT N I 0 N
WITH THE CHURCH,

THE

SOLEMN DUTY,

AND

THE BLESSED PRIVILEGE,

OF ALL

WHO WOULD BE SAVED.

REV. hJ^IkBAUGH,

w

author of heaven, or the sainted dead; the heavenly

recognition; the heavenly home; the

birds of the bible, etc.

"He that Lath not the Church for his Mother,
hath not God for his Father."

SbeconTr 3EMtfon, 3&cbtseU

PHILADELPHIA:

LINDSAY & BLAKISTON.
1856.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by

LINDSAY & BLAKISTON,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

STEREOTYPED BY J. EAGAN PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN & SON.

PREFACE.

There are a number of well-meaning
persons who remain out of the Church of
Jesus Christ. The Author has long be-
lieved that this is owing, not to a lack of
sincere interest in religion, but almost
wholly to difficulties which present them-
selves to sincere inquirers — difficulties
which will readily vanish when properly
considered. To such honest-minded per-
sons, this little volume affectionately offers
its aid.

It makes no abstruse theological preten-
sions, but is designed to meet difficulties
as they actually exist in the minds of

men. Its object is wholly practical.

(3)

IV PREFACE.

This Treatise, in the former pamphlet
edition, has had the good effect of con-
vincing some, and of persuading them to
unite with the Church. Pastors and
Christian friends have been pleased to
say, that it is well adapted, in its style and
argument, to meet an existing want. At
their request, it has been revised and pub-
lished again, in a better dress; and it is
devoutly hoped it may do good.

The Author would yet ask, of those
into whose hands this little Book may fall,
as a special favor, that they will be so
kind as to lend it to thinking persons
around them, who are yet out of the
Church.

Lancaster, Pa., November 16th, 1855.

PAET FIEST.

DIFFICULTIES REMOVED.

(5)

PART FIRST.

DIFFICULTIES REMOVED.

Will You read this Little Book?

Introductory.

I take it for granted that you, who are
just now commencing to read this little
book, are a sincere person. You desire to
do right, and to live right. You believe
in the Bible, and in the Christian religion.*
You often meditate seriously on your pros-
pects in regard to the eternal world. You
desire to be honest and faithful "with your
own soul. I believe, therefore, that you
will solemnly and candidly weigh the
matter to which I desire to call your atten-
tion. Though I have never seen your
face, and may never see it in this world,

(7)

8 INTRODUCTORY.

yet I feel an interest in your comfort on
earth, and in your salvation in heaven. It
is this which impels me to write these
things to you. Friend ! please read this
little book.

Have you ever made a public profession
of religion ? Do you belong to some
branch of the Christian Church, as a
regular member ? If you do not, will you
listen to me, while I endeavor to prove to
you, that it is your duty, and the duty of
all men, to connect themselves in a regu-
lar, public, and orderly manner with the
* Church of Christ ?

You have no doubt often thought on
this subject; and perhaps you have been
more or less troubled in regard to it. It
may be that you are at this moment unde-
cided as to what you ought to do, or what
you will do. This matter may have rested
upon your mind for years, as has often
been the case with others; for one year

INTRODUCTORY. 9

hastens fast after another, and ten or
twenty years of our life are quickly left be-
hind, and soon old age and death threaten
us. There is nothing that we are so apt
to put off as coming to a decision on some
religious matter. I once knew a man
whose mind had been seriously exercised
on the subject of his duty to unite with
the Church for fifteen years ! He delayed
the solemn decision for so long a time. If
this has been your case, I hope and believe
that you will come to a speedy and a right
decision, if you will read on, with a sin-
cere desire to find the truth. Even if you
have already decided never to join the
Church, I still believe you will change
your mind when you carefully consider this
subject in its true scriptural light.

I can easily believe that you have de-
layed thus long for some reason which you
consider a good one. No one acts without
reason, unless he is intentionally wicked.

10 INTRODUCTORY.

Those who are sincere and yet neglect
duty, do it because they think they have
found some reason which, makes it proper
for them so to do. The reason, then, why
you have delayed, is because there is in
your mind, some ground which you con-
sider good, upon which you believe your-
self justifiable. There is some difficulty
in your way. When, either your own
mind, or some person, or perhaps the
Bible, urges this duty upon you, you meet
the plea with some objections or difficulties
by wThich you excuse yourself.

Let us consider these, and see whether
one or other of the following objections do
not keep you back. Let us see, too,
whether they cannot be satisfactorily an-
swered.

How, I earnestly beg you not to lay this
little book aside, but to read on with an
honest desire to know what is your duty
in the case. It is a subject of sufficient

THE FIRST OBJECTION. 11

solemnity to claim your most serious con-
sideration. Shall you live and die out of
Christ's Church ? Oh ! what momentous
and eternal consequences hang upon your
decision of this question !

I DO NOT KNOW WHICH CHURCH IS RIGHT.

The First Objection.

Here is your first difficulty. You say :
There are bo many churches — which is the
right one, and which one shall I join ?

We freely confess that the Church is
divided into many parts, and we mourn
over it. It is a great evil ; and those who
are the means of dividing it are certainly
very guilty before God. Christ instituted
only one Church, and it is His will that
there should be but one fold, as there is
also but one Shepherd — one body, as there
is but one Head. One of the greatest evils

12 THE FIRST OBJECTION.

which result from the division of the
Church is, that it keeps so many back
from joining it. Therefore, to such as aid
in causing its divisions, the solemn words
of our Saviour must be applied: "Wo
unto that man by whom the offence
cometh !"

Grant, then, that the Church is divided,
and that this is a great evil: it does not
destroy it. The Church still exists ; di-
vided as the branches, yet still one as the
tree. Any one who reflects charitably and
earnestly on this subject, must confess that
the Church can still exist, does exist, and
is still one Church, under all these divi-
sions.

We will endeavor to show that this is
the case. The Scriptures compare the
Church to a human body. Christ is the
head. The Church is the body. We are
the members of that body. Now, though
these members are various in their posi-

THE FIRST OBJECTION. 18

tions and uses, they are still all pervaded
by one life. The judgment of the head,
and the emotion of the heart, may mani-
fest themselves variously through the body
and its members, yet the life of it is but
one life. There may be various weak-
nesses and defects in the body and its
members, which very much hinder it, but
do not destroy its life. The eye may see
dimly, the ear may hear faintly, the taste
may be defective, and some of the limbs
may be feeble; and yet all these do not
entirely destroy the inner life of the man.
They deface his beauty, enfeeble his
strength, and make him less agreeable to
others, but still he is a man. So it is with
the Church ; her divisions make her feeble,
destroy her beauty, and hinder her effi-
ciency, but do not destroy her existence.

Some branches of the Church are no
doubt less pervaded with the life of reli-
gion than others. Some are more in error
A

14 THE FIRST OBJECTION.

than others — and this will also make some
branches better than others ; just as we
sometimes see some branches of a fruit
tree less fresh and growing than others.
The fruit, on those branches which, have
least sap and life, will not be so good and
beautiful and perfect as it is on others, and
yet the life of the tree is in all, more or
less. Or, comparing the Church to a soil,
into which wre are planted, and in which
we are to grow, w^e may say, that plants in
some soils growr less perfect than they do
in others; and so it is with the Church.
Those branches of it w^hich hold most,
truth, which are nearest in all things to
our Saviour, are the best — in them we wrill
flourish most as Christians, yet we cannot
deny that there may also be persons
planted in other Christian soil, who also
grow in grace and in the knowledge of
Christ.
The Apostle says of Christians, "Ye

THE FIRST OBJECTION. 15

are all one in Christ Jesus." They are not,
however, all One in every respect. It is
not said they are one in views — one in doc-
trines— one in their ideas of Church gov-
ernment—one in their practices, customs
and services — one in their feelings and
experiences ; but they are one in a deeper
unity than any of these : they are one -in
the life, grace, and power of Christ Jesus.
All that are His children in deed and in
truth, are in Him — in Him they exchange
their sympathies in true charity, and in
Him they form a perfect unity. They are
in Him as the branches are in the vine —
in Him, as the members are in the body —
in Him, as grafts are in the stem-— in Him,
as the roots of plants are in the ground,
"rooted and grounded in Him" and grow-
ing up in Him to the 'full stature of men.
Thus it is easy to see that outwardly they
may differ in many respects, yet in the in-

16 THE FIRST OBJECTION.

ward, deeper life and power of religion,
they are one in Christ Jesus.

Christians may differ to some extent in
doctrines, and yet be Christians. What is
a doctrine ? The doctrines of the Scrip-
tures which I hold, are the doctrines of
the Scripture as I understand it. But I
may "see only in part and know in part ;"
or I may see in a wrong light in some re-
spects. It maybe the truth which I see,
and yet not the whole truth, or not exactly
the truth. Another sees the same truth
differently, or sees more of it than I do.
That is his doctrine. Hence you see that
two persons may hold the same doctrine,
and yet hold it in some respects differently,
The views of persons must vary as their
intelligence varies. We may easily feel
the power of a truth, even though we do
not see the whole of that truth in all its
relations and dependencies ; even as we
may feel the heat of the fire when we do

THE FIRST OBJECTION. 17

not see its light. Hence we are taught
"above all things to put on charity." Did
not even the Apostles differ in some points
of doctrine, and yet they were all Chris-
tians? Acts 15:1— 2. Gal. 2:11. Acts
11 : 2-3. Acts 15 : 86—41. These differ-
ences were about minor and outward mat-
ters— they could not see alike; but was
there not an inward unity, which still
bound them to each other and to Christ,
notwithstanding all their outward differ-
ences ?

Christians may differ even in the manner
in which divinely appointed ordinances are
to be used, and yet be one in Christ, and
all in His Church. There may be a great
variety of administration, without losing
the substance of the ordinance itself. In
regard, for instance, to the communion of
the Lord's supper, the most solemn, impor-
tant and interesting, of all the ordinances,
there may be outward variety where the
2*

18 THE FIRST OBJECTION.

life, grace, spirit, and intent of the ordi-
nance is still retained. One branch of the
Church, for instance, prefers to celebrate it
in the night, and attaches to it the ancient
agapae, or love-feast, and even the Paschal
lamb ; others lay no stress on any of these
things. One receives the emblems kneel-
ing, another standing, and still another
sitting. One uses unleavened bread, an-
other attaches no importance to this mat-
ter and uses leavened. One breaks the
bread, from a loaf, others use the wafer.
One celebrates it monthly, another quar-
terly, and others annually. Any one who
attends the celebration of this blessed
feast, in the different branches of the
Church, will discover variety and differ-
ence in great detail, in the outward admin-
istration ; but would it be reasonable,
would it be charitable, would it be scrip-
tural, to say that, under any of these
forms, it is not the Communion ? Cer-

THE FIRST OBJECTION. 19

tainly not. " Now there are diversities of
gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are
differences of administration, but the same
Lord ; and there are differences of opera-
tions, but it is the same God which work-
eth all in all." 1 Cor. 12 : 4—6.

The same may be said of the Sacrament
of Baptism. There is a great variety of
administration as to the outward rite.—
One prefers one mode, and another prefers
another ; but all agree that it is to be done
"with water," and "in the name of the
Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
Who will say that the real substance of the
sacrament is not retained under all this
outward variety of administration ? If out-
ward exactness were required, in all par-
ticulars and details, it would have been so
revealed. Just as in the Lord's Supper,
we are told to eat bread and drink wine,
but are not told whether we shall eat much
or little, whether we shall do it sitting,

20 THE FIRST OBJECTION.

kneeling or standing, whether we shall do
it by day or by night; so in baptism, it is
to be "with water" and in the Triune
name, but it is not said that much water or
little shall be used; whether the person
shall kneel, stand, or sit ; whether it shall
be applied three times or once.

'Now we freely confess that such outward
forms should never have divided the Church,
and those who divided it on these accounts
are guilty before God ; yet we insist upon
it, that the substance of these ordinances
may be retained under this outward variety.
Hence you are not justifiable in remaining
out of the Church, because these differences
cf administration exist.

Christians may differ also in their views
of church government, and yet all be in the
Church, under all these forms. The very
fact that Christians differ in- what they con-
sider the true form of church-government,
is the best proof that no particular form is

THE FIRST OBJECTION. 21

distinctly, and absolutely, and unchange-
ably fixed in the Scriptures. That govern-
ment and order shall exist in the Church,
is clearly revealed ; and this all admit ; but
what shall be its form, in all its details, is
not revealed. The Church is not con-
structed like a house, all the parts of which
are at once perfect in the plan ; but it is
like a tree, or human body, a living organ-
ism, which perfects its parts in the process
of its own growth towards perfection. The
life of the plant or tree remains the same,
and yet its outward form is constantly
changing. The Church is always repre-
sented as such — a living, progressive organ-
ism. It is never compared in the Scrip-
tures to any thing that has not life. Even
where it is compared to a house or temple,
the Apostle violates the common use of
metaphors, in order to make it living.
Thus: "Ye also as lively stones, are built
up a spiritual house." 1 Pet. 2 : 5. And

22 THE FIRST OBJECTION.

again we are told that in Christ " all the
building fitly framed together, groweth unto
an holy temple in the Lord." Eph. 2 : 21.
Here we can easily see that the Church, as
a whole, may have life for all, and carry
power with her to govern, and yet the par-
ticular mode and manner of government
may be more or less conditioned by circum-
stances. Thus the history of the Church
is like a tree, whose outward shape is de-
termined to a great extent from the place
where it stands, and yet the inward life of
the tree is ever the same, let it stand where
it will, and let its shape be what it may.
So in regard to the Church. It is in this
respect in the Church just as it is in the
State. Civil government is an ordinance
of God ; " the powders that be are ordained
of God." It is not, however, the form of
government which is divine, but the power
by which this form is to be animated. —
Some form must of course exist, but God

THE FIRST OBJECTION. 23

has not said which. The form may be an
absolute monarchy, it may be a limited
monarchy, it may be an aristocracy, it may
be republican, democratic, or some mixture
of any number of these ; and yet, under
all these forms, God gives to the regular
officers divine right to govern, administer
laws, reward and punish. So it is in the
Church. The form may be Episcopal,
Presbyterial, Congregational, or some mix-
ture of any of these ; and yet, under it,
God gives the right to rule to those whom
he has constituted office-bearers in the
Church. We do not mean to say that all
these forms are alike good, or that indi-
vidual piety will flourish equally well under
all of them; but we wish to say that a
person may be a real Christian under any
one of them ; and that therefore no one
has a just excuse in remaining out of the
Church because of this difference and
variety of form.

24 THE FIRST OBJECTION.

Christians may differ also in their customs
and forms of service in worship. Some may
make preaching most prominent; others
may have more singing, more prayer.
Some may be more formal, others more
familiar and free. Some may be more
quiet, others more spirited. Some may be
more plain and simple, others more so-
lemnly ceremonial. Some may worship
under the magnificent Gothic arch, others
in a farm-house, school-house, or grove;
and yet all may worship Him who is a Spirit,
in spirit and in truth. Again we would
not say, that some customs and modes
of service are not better adapted to the true
spirit of worship than others, yet we de-
voutly and charitably believe that among
all these you may be a Christian. It is
therefore your duty to connect yourself
with that Church which, after a careful and
prayerful examination, you believe to be
nearest right, and among whom you believe

THE FIRST OBJECTION. 25

you can be most useful to the world and
the Church, and in which you can make
the best advances in holiness. Then serve
your God and your generation in humility
and love; and towards all others put on,
"above all things/' that charity which
"beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things, and
which never faileth." The hull is not as
good as the kernel, and the bark is not the
tree, therefore despise not him who differs
with you about outward things. Cultivate
a deeper and more inward fellowship with
Him. According to the Apostle's beautiful
advice, wralk with Him in " all lowliness
and meekness, with long-suffering, forbear-
ing one another in love; endeavoring to
keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds
of peace." Eph. 4 : 2— -3. Whenever you
are tempted to narrow-hearted bigotry, call
to mind the example of the Saviour. "And
John answered and said, Master, we saw
3

26 THE FIRST OBJECTION.

one casting out devils in thy name ; and
we forbade him, because he followeth not
with ns. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid
him not: for he that is not against us, is
for us." Luke 9 : 49, 50. Are you not
convinced, from these remarks, that though
the divisions of the Church are an evil,
yet they do not destroy the Church — that
it still exists in all these divers branches —
that it is still one in its deeper life and
spirit, although some of its branches are
more living than others, yet in any one of
them, which you believe to be best, you
may be a Christian — and that through it
you may be connected with that kingdom
of Christ which includes all saints, and out
of which there are none which He acknow-
ledges as his subjects.

If you still persist in keeping out of the
Church on the ground of this excuse, then
permit me to ask whether you are con-
sistent with your own views in this respect.

THE FIRST OBJECTION. 27

Do you refuse to belong to a government,
as a regular citizen, because there are dif-
ferent forms of government, and because
all do not agree as to which is the best?
Do you refuse to stand in connection, and
to act in concert, with a political party,
because there are other parties in politics?
Yea perhaps you are a member of some
benevolent society, though there are many
other ones, having the same, or at least a
similar, object in view. You hold certain
views on subjects, though others hold dif-
ferent views on the same subjects. You do
not cease the business in which jtou are
engaged, because others do the same busi-
ness in a different way. You perhaps even
hope and strive in a certain way to get to
heaven, though you know that others have
different views on the same matter; why
then do you refuse to join some branch of
the Church, because there are others who
differ, and choose to serve God in a w^ay

28 THE FIRST OBJECTION.

that is not outwardly the same in every
respect? Certainly this is not consistent
— it is not a reasonable course of conduct.
If we would do nothing till all would agree
as to hoiv it should be done, we would do
little indeed. — We verily believe that, if
you will carefully consider the matter in
this light, you will be convinced that, to
keep out of the Church because it is divided
into different branches, is to do so without
good reason.

You can certainly find one or the other
of these branches of the Church near
enough to what you believe right, accord-
ing to the Scriptures, to permit fellowship
with them. Use your judgment prayer-
fully, and then join in with some branch
of Christ's kingdom on earth.

the second objection. 29

There are so many unworthy Professors.
The Second Objection.

There are so many bad professors of re-
ligion. There are so many belonging to
the Church who are not fit to belong to it.
There are many in the Church who would
better be out of it. Many make a loud
profession, take the communion, and pre-
tend to be religious in the Church and on
the Sabbath, who are worse than I am.

In some such form as this, an objection
is expressed, and an excuse made, which is
very common — perhaps more common than
any other. You will certainly read on,
while we examine this excuse ; and if you
see that it affords no good reason for your
remaining out of the Church, you will cast
it away.

First of all, then, we fully and freely
confess that what you say is so. We make
3*

30 THE SECOND OBJECTION.

this confession sadly, and in deep humilia-
tion. We lament sincerely that it is true.
We believe also that this is one of the
greatest evils which afflict the Church. An
enemy within can always do more injury
than an enemy without. The very fact
that it is the cause of keeping so- many
persons back from making a profession of
religion, is one of the strongest proofs that
it is a great evil. It is to those wTho are in
the Church in form, but out of it in heart
and lif<5, that the Saviour's cutting reproof
is administered : " Ye shut up the kingdom
of heaven against men : for ye neither go
in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that
are entering, to go in." — Matt. 23:13.
Such persons are in very truth offences or
stumbling-blocks — for this is the scripture
meaning of the w^ord offences — over which
many of the world stumble into perdition,
who, had not these been in their way,
would have entered the kingdom. Hence

THE SECOND OBJECTION. 31

the Saviour says, "AYo unto the world be-
cause of offences !" It is the world, those
who are in the world, that receive injury
from such professors ; because they are
kept out of the Church by their unworthy
conduct. " It must need be that offences
come." In the present state of the world,
so full of evil men, it must need be that in
some instances men of wicked hearts will
find their way into the Church, to the dis-
grace of religion — "But wo to that man
by whom the offence cometh." What the.
weight is of this wo — the Saviour's wo —
the " wrath of the Lamb " — will be found
out by actual experience, when God shall
judge them in that great day which will
reveal the secrets of the hearts of men.
How awful to perish as members of the
Church ! How awful from the very gate
of Heaven to be cast down to hell !

Having now fully agreed with you that
there are those in the Church who are a

32 THE SECOND OBJECTION.

disgrace to it, and who are very guilty in
the sight of God on "that account, we must
still differ with you when you make this an
excuse for remaining out of it. For —

1. You will agree that they are not all
such who are members of the Church.
While I agree with you that there are
many bad professors, you will agree with
me, that there are many good ones. This
cannot be denied. We will venture to say
that you can point out many among your
acquaintances whom you believe to be sin-
cere, humble, devoted Christians — such as
live up to their professions, as far as it is
possible for them to do in a world so full of
temptation and evil, and who show them-
selves, in heart and life, as " Israelites
indeed." You know some aged members
of the Church, who have spent a long and
steady life in devout service of God and
man ; of whom you will be constrained to
say, as they sink into the grave, that good

THE SECOND OBJECTION. 33

men have fallen. You can also fix your
mind on some among your acquaintances
in middle life, who are devoting the full
strength of manhood to God, in connection
with the Church. You even know some
in the bloom of youth, who have set aside
youthful follies, and who are laying upon
the altar of Christ, the first and warmest
affections of their life, and who most de-
voutly and sincerely do " remember their
Creator in the days of their youth." You
must confess that this is so. Is it not more
reasonable then, and much wiser, to imitate
the examples of these, than to stumble at
those who are unworthy, to the eternal in-
jury of your own soul? It will do you no
good, in the day of Judgment, to say that
there were hypocrites in the Church. The
question will be, are you among the good ?
It will be no comfort to be excluded from
the heavenly kingdom ourselves, even if
half of those in the Church shall meet the

34 THE SECOND OBJECTION.

same fate. It is our duty to be, and to do,
like the good in the Church, and not like
the unworthy. If there are only a few
that are on the narrow waj7, let us see to it
that we are among that number.

The very fact that there are so many
who only say Lord, Lord, while they do
not the will of our Father who is in hea-
ven, makes it only the more necessary for
others to profess religion in the right way.
If many disgrace religion by a bad profes-
sion, so much more important is it for you
and I to honor it by a good one. God
and His truth need true witnesses before
men, and if these witnesses are few, are
not we so. much the more called to stand
out and witness for God and religion by a
faithful and sincere profession ? If the
country is in danger, and there are many
traitors among those who are set for its
defence, then it is the more our duty to fall
into the ranks as true men.

THE SECOND OBJECTION. 35

2. You demand too much, in asking
that the Church shall be free from all un-
worthy professors. If you stand on that
ground, you would not have joined Christ
while he was on earth ; nor would you
have joined any of the Churches which the
Apostles established, and to which they
ministered. You know that there was
one among the twelve, who betrayed him,
who was a '• thief," a "son of perdition,"
one for whom it had been " better if he
had never been born." There was another
among them, who denied him three times,
and with "cursing and swearing." But
this did not injure the rest of the disciples.
They did not stand away from Christ on
that account. They, though they were in
such company by profession, were never-
theless as good men as ever lived. Christ,
who knew their hearts — for He "knew
what was in man," — walked in their com-
pany, and He was not polluted by them.

36 THE SECOND OBJECTION.

How then can you sincerely say, that it is
a good excuse for you not to join the
Church, because there are now and then
those who betray and deny Christ ? No ;
the more false friends He has, the more
reason is there why we should cleave to
Him as true friends.

We find that in the apostolic Churches
there were professors who disgraced their
profession. Let any one read the Epistles,
and he will find many allusions to persons
who endeavored to hide the worst of
crimes under the cloak of an outward pro-
fession of religion. At Rome there were
those to whom Paul says : " The name of
God is blasphemed among the gentiles
through you." Eom. 2, 24. In the
Church of Corinth there was one who was
guilty of a crime that " is not so much as
named even among the Gentiles. " 1 Cor*
5, 1. In the same Church, while they met
to partake of the Lord's Supper, they ran

THE SECOND OBJECTION. 37

into such extravagant excesses that the
Apostle charges them with turning this
solemn ordinance into a feast of gluttony
and drunkenness. " One is hungry and
another is drunken. What ! have ye not
houses to eat and drink in ? or despise ye
the Church of God !" 1 Cor. 11, 21-22.
He also warns them against eating and
drinking at the Lord's Supper unworthily,
and plainly declares that some of them did
so. " For this cause many are weak and
sickly among youy and many sleep." v. 30.
To the Philippian Church he writes in sad-
ness, thus : " For many walk (that is with
Christians by profession,) of whom I have
told you often, and now tell you even
weeping, that they are the enemies of the
Cross of Christ." Phil. 3, 18.

When these unworthy professors were

guilty of open and public crimes, they

were expelled from the Church. This was

the duty of the proper officers of the

4

38 THE SECOND OBJECTION.

Church ; and it is still their duty. Per-
haps you say, they do not perform this
duty. If they do not perform their duty,
that is their sin, and not yours. If these
unworthy professors are outwardly regular,
so that the discipline of the Church cannot
take hold of them, though they are in-
wardly hypocrites, then they come under
the Saviour's rule in the parable of the
tares and wheat : "Let both grow together
until the harvest. " If we are only wheat,
all will be right, even though we stand
among tares.

It is very plain, then, to any reasonable
person, that there were unworthy profes-
sors in the Church in the time of Christ,
as well as in the apostolic Churches ; but
at the same time there were also good
Christians among them. "We do not hear
that any persons refused, in that day, to
join them on this account. The Church
will exist, no doubt, to the end, as mixed —

THE SECOND OBJECTION. 39

there will no cloubt be tares among the
wheat at the dreadful hour when the last
trumpet shall sound, and when God shall
send forth the final reapers ! Matt. 7, 22,
23.

What if we are in the Church among
Judases, and "such as have a form of god-
liness but deny the power?'' Our own
example, if it is of the right kind, will
only be the more impressive to others,
even as stars shine more brightly the
darker the night. The real beauty of a
consistent religious life will be the better
seen in us, in contrast with their evil
works. In this way the wrath of man will
be made to praise God, and it will be seen
that He in infinite wisdom is

" From seeming evil still educing good."

"For there must be also heresies among
you, that they which are approved may be
made manifest among you." In this view

40 THE SECOND OBJECTION.

how beautiful is the exhortation of the
Apostle to you and to me : " Be blameless
and harmless, the sons of God, without
rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and per-
verse nation, among whom ye shine as
lights in the road." Phil. 2, 5. 0 let us
seek to do this, let others do as they will.

3. We must not too uncharitably judge
those who are professors of religion. We
must not entirely condemn them because
we discern imperfections and weaknesses
in their life and conduct. Lord, are we
not all dust and ashes? Who will cast
the first stone at his erring brother? Alas !
who art thou that judgest another so
rashly — so severely? Oh! how beautiful
is the prayer

" The mercy I to others show—
That mercy show to me."

We would not, in any degree, justify
the failings of Church members ; but we
must ask in reason and in charity, that

THE SECOND OBJECTION. 41

they be not absolutely condemned as grace-
less children of Satan, except by one who
is himself perfect. If this course is pur-
sued, we feel sure that many, who are now
so harsh in judgment, would silently with-
draw without pronouncing condemnation,
and the "weak brethren," who have fallen
into sin would be left alone with the Sa-
viour: who would say to them, "neither
do I condemn thee: depart, and sin no
more !"

In judging professing Christians, it must
be remembered that their faults and fail-
ings are generally outward and public —
they are seen on that side of their lives by
which they come in contact with the rough
and bewitching world — but their penitence
is generally in secret. You see the incon-
sistency of a public act of wrong in them,
which was perhaps committed in circum-
stances of peculiar trial and temptation,
but you do not see the tears of penitence
4*

42 THE SECOND OBJECTION.

which that same person sheds over his
faults in secret. Your eyes are not upon
him when in the solitude of the night he
bemoans his failings, "makes his bed to
swim," and "waters his couch with his
tears !" No, you see him not in his closet,
when he has "shut to the door;" and
when, in bitter confession and penitence,
he asks his "Father which seeth in secret"
to pardon his offences ! Thus, because you
see only the outside, and that the worst
side of his character, while the best is hid,
you may do him wrong in judging him too
severely. Condemn him not as a graceless
man for a few outward acts of inconsis-
tency, till you are quite sure that he does
not mourn over them in secret, and pray
for forgiveness to that Saviour with whom
is forgiveness, and who, when he was
asked how often we should forgive our
brother, said : " I say not unto thee, until
seven times : but, until seventy times

THE SECOND OBJECTION. 43

seven." Matt. 18 : 22. See also Luke 17 :
3-4.

There are great mistakes made in
judging others,. by not keeping this fact in
view. There are many, for instance, who
blame David for his great sin, and they do
so rightly ; but they are not so ready to
give him credit for his sincere and humble
confession of it, and for the deep penitence
in which he turned to God for forgiveness
in the 51st Psalm. So there are many
who stumble at the errors of professors,
and make it an excuse for remaining out
of the Church, but never think of the
" strong crying and tears," with which in
secret they mourn over the wound which
they have inflicted upon their own souls,
and upon the cause of Christ. Is this just
and right? Oh let us judge in charity,
even of outward acts; and what is inward,
let us leave that to Him "who searcheth
the hearts and trieth the reins of the child-
ren of men," and before whom "all things

44 THE SECOND OBJECTION.

are naked and open." Above all, let us
not neglect our own souls, and our own
duties, because others are doing so.

4. You do not join the. Church because
there are so many bad and unworthy pro-
fessors in it, but you do not act on this
principle in other respects. Now, there
are traitors in the nation — persons who
break the laws, and who are unworthy of
being called citizens ; and when even they
are not guilty of acts which deprive them
of citizenship, they are nevertheless bad
citizens, and a disgrace to the nation : and
yet you do not, on this account, refuse to
become a citizen — you do not refuse to be-
long to the nation, to place yourself under
its laws, and to enjoy the privileges which
it confers upon its worthy citizens, because
there are traitors and unworthy citizens
living in this great Republic.

There is much counterfeit money and
much bad money afloat, but you do not on
thgtt account despise all money, count it an

THE SECOND OBJECTION. 45

evil thing in itself, and refuse to take that
which is good.

Science has its blemishes, its defects, and
there are many who disgrace it, by abuse
in using it for unworthy purposes; and yet
you do not, on that account, consider know-
ledge a bad thing in itself, and refuse
fe^owship with those who are honoring it
with their love and devotion, and who are
united for its promotion in the world.

Many families have bad and unworthy
members — members who destroy its peace
and comfort within, and who disgrace it
before others; but you do not for that
reason consider the family as evil, and
refuse to make one in the family circle, and
in the communion of domestic love.

"Wheat, and all grain, has its tares, its
defective growths, and its injurious mix-
tures in many ways; but you do not there-
fore consider grain-growing an evil thing
— you do not cease to sow; and though

46 THE SECOND OBJECTION.

there are many farmers who are unworthy
of that name, and who are a disgrace
to the business, you are not, therefore,
ashamed to be called by that name, and
induced to desist from your regular pursuit
of that business.

Are not these illustrations sufficient to
prove that in refusing to rank yours&lf
among the professors of religion because
there are bad members in the Church, you
do not act consistently — you do not act on
this principle in other things. It would be
foolish if you did. Is it not plain, then,
that an evil spirit, and perhaps an evil
heart, are deceiving you in persuading you
to lean, with the eternal interests of your
soul, upon an excuse which, even in an
earthly point of view, is not only baseless
but absolutely foolish. Oh ! consider these
things solemnly, and in the light of eter-
nity. "What will it profit a man if he lose
his own soul, even if ten thousand profes-
sors of religion do the same ?

THE THIRD OBJECTION. 47

You see that this objection to joining
the Church, has no solid ground. As one
who sincerely seeks the truth, you are
bound to cast it forever away.

Religion does not consist in Outward
Forms.

The Third Objection.

Some say, by way of excuse, that reli-
gion does not consist in outward forms,
but in dispositions of the heart ; and that
therefore we can be just as good out of the
Church as in it.

Here again we fully agree that religion
does not consist in outward forms— that the
mere form of belonging to the Church,
does not make us Christians, and that piety
must dwell in the heart in all holy dispo-

48 THE THIRD OBJECTION".

sitions and affections. But if you say that
it is an excuse to remain out of the Church
because religion does not consist in out-
ward forms, and that we can be as good
out of the Church as in it, then I must
differ with you, and give you my reasons ;
and let me here again express the belief
that, as an honest man, you will agree with
me when you have given the matter a
serious consideration.

First of all, then, I must say, that to
belong to a Church is not merely a form.
The ordinances of the Church are not mere
forms. God, who has instituted them, is
no formalist. He does not mock us, by
calling us to engage in empty ceremonies.
These forms are designed as means to bring
us near to God. Through these forms He
meets us and we meet Him. He is in
these forms with His Spirit and His grace.
They are His own transactions with men ;
and whenever we draw nigh unto Him

THE THIRD OBJECTION. 49

through them, He draws nigh to us in them.
It is therefore wicked to say that what God
has appointed as means and media of com-
munication with Him are mere outward
forms. True, we can use them as mere
forms, as too many do, but that is not their
design ; and, if we use them rightly, they
are more than forms to us.

Again : Those holy dispositions and af-
fections of heart which make us acceptable
to God are to be obtained by the use of the
ordinances of the Church as means. It is
God's order to give grace into our hearts
in a certain way, and that way he has pre-
scribed to us — this way requires us to use
certain means. When we eat, for instance,
we get strong ; but it is not the mere form
of eating which gives us strength, it is the
food which incorporates itself with our sys-
tem, that replenishes our strength; and
yet the form of eating is absolutely neces-
sary as a means. So it is in the use of the
5

50 THE THIRD OBJECTION".

means of grace ; it is not the outward form
which gives us grace, but it is through the
use of it that Gocl transmits grace into our
souls. "When Naaman was sent to wash
himself seven times in the Jordan, that he
might be healed of his leprosy, it was not
the form of washing which was to cure
him, but he was to be cured in the use of
this means — and he was not cured till he
did it. He thought the waters of Damas-
cus, might do just as well, but that was Ms
way, not God's. So we may think that
we can do just as well out of the Church,
but that is our way and not God's. See
II. Kings, 5.

The inward and outward in religion, are
bound together, and God sustains the one
by the other. The spirit needs the form, 9
and the form needs the spirit. If the spirit
is not there, the form is dead ; and if the
form is not used, the spirit departs. This
truth can be seen everywhere. Everything

THE THIRD OBJECTION. 51

that lives on earth has both form and spirit.
The tree- has an unseen hidden life, but
also an outward form. The limbs and the
bark are not the tree ; for without the in-
ward life they would be dead; but it is
equally true that the inward life could not
exist if it were not for the outward form —
the bark and the limbs ; take these away,
and the life will soon withdraw. Now so
it is in religion ; forms are not religion, but
they are the outward signs of it, and they are
necessary to it. If we take them away,
the life and spirit of religion will not stay ;
no more than the life of a tree will remain
in it when the bark and the limbs are taken
away. Who is he that would be wiser
than God ? When He institutes forms and
ordinances to bring us near to Him, who
is he that says, we can be just as pious and
acceptable to God without them ? You
will certainly yield this point.

52 THE FOURTH OBJECTION.

I FEAR I COULD NOT KEEP MY VOWS.

The Fourth Objection.

You say you would join the Church, but
you have seen many join that have not
lived up to their vows, and you fear it
might be the case with you ; and in this
way you think you would commit more
sin than by not joining at all.

We agree with you fully that it is a
great sin to profess, and then not live up
to our professions and promises. "Better
is it that thou shouldst not vow, than that
thou shouldst vow and not pay." Eccl. 5 :
5. It is certainly a good precept which
Solomon gives: "Be not rash with thy
mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to
utter anything before God." It is, how-
ever, not necessary that you should be rash
in your promises ; neither is it necessary

THE FOURTH OBJECTION. 53

that you should vow and not pay. "We
are not to do like those who thus vow;
but we are to make a deliberate profession,
and then honor it by a holy walk ; and for
this God has pledged us His grace.

It is, moreover, certain that your remain-
ing oat of the Church does not increase
your fitness; but every year lessens it.
You are not to become holy and fit for
heaven out of the Church, and then enter
it merely for safe-keeping ; but you are to
enter it, that you may have access to those
means of grace, and use those helps, by
which you are to grow in grace. The
t Church, it has been well said, is not like a
barn into which ripe sheaves are to be
gathered, but it is like a garden in which
plants are to be cultivated. On first enter-
ing the Church you will, of course, be
weak in faith, mere babes in Christ ; and
there will be faintings and failings, and
5*

54 THE FOURTH OBJECTION.

stumblings ; but these will gradually give
way to strength and firmness. We have
the promises of God to sustain us. In
His house is bread from heaven, to
strengthen us, and water of life to refresh
us. " They that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength." 20 : 40, 31. As
children, they will find in their Father's
house protection, food, and encourage-
ment. " Those that be planted in the
house of the Lord shall flourish in the
courts of our God." Ps. 92 :1 3. Out of
the Church we are " without Christ, being
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers from the covenants of
promise, having no hope, and without
God in the world." As long as you are
out of the Church, you are out of cove-
nant with God, " aliens and strangers,"
and have no claim upon His blessings;
and how, in that case, can you expect to
have His favor; but in His Church, you

THE FOURTH OBJECTION. 55

are entitled to all that He has promised to
those who are in covenant with Him. In
the Church, you are regarded as members
of His family, " children and heirs." Now
you have a right to hope, for He says to
us : " Now, therefore, ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens
with the saints, and of the household of
God ; and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief corner-stone ; in
whom all the building fitly framed to-
gether groweth unto an holy temple, in the
Lord; in whom ye also are builded to-
gether, for a habitation of God through
the Spirit." Eph. 2 : 19-22. In such like
assurances rests* your hope — assurances
which you only have in the Church.

That you shall come short in some
things, through weakness, is almost cer-.
tain. The holiest men of whom we read
in the sacred Scriptures, were sometimes

56 THE FOURTH OBJECTION.

drawn into evil by the power of tempta-
tion, and, the strength of their own remain-
ing infirmities. Even Paul was sometimes
ensnared by the law in his members, which
warred against the law in his mind: so
that the evil which he would not, that he
did. But God is merciful to the weak-
nesses of such as sincerely endeavor to be
His. " "We have not an High-priest which
cannot be touched with a feeling of our
infirmities." Heb. 4 : 15, He will not
cast us off for the first offence, when it is
committed through weakness. "For as
the heaven is high above the earth, so
great is His mercy toward them that fear
Him. He knoweth our frame : He remem-
bereth that we are dust." Ps. 103 : 11, 14.
"If any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father — Jesus Christ, the
.righteous ; and He is the propitiation tfor
our sins." 1 John, 2 : 1.

From these remarks you will see that

THE FOURTH OBJECTION. 57

the Church, insures and promises us the
needed grace, whereby we may go on from
strength to strength. It is designed and
adapted to assist us in overcoming our
weaknesses. You see also that even if in
some things we fail through infirmities,
God will not on that account cast us off,
but give us His grace that we may not sin
again. Thus the Church is a nursery of
piety. It is God's family, in which His
children, weak and strong, are protected,
encouraged and blest ; and in which they
grow up "unto perfect men, unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ." Eph. 4 : 13. The Church is His
fold, from which if any one stray, He
straightway "leaveth the ninety and nine "
that are safe, that He may go after it and
bring it back.

"While it shows a good spirit to express
an humble distrust in ourselves, and enter-
tain a fear lest we should not be able to

58 THE FIFTH OBJECTION.

keep our vows, we should not let this fear
keep ns out of the Church. This would
he like refusing to go to a full table and
eat, for fear that we might not be enabled
faithfully to use the strength thus derived
in the right way. "We must begin to do
our duty, and God will give us strength to
go on in it. He gives us the promise of
this beforehand, and He wTill give us the
needed grace as fast as we go on in the
way. This He has not only promised, but
He has actually performed His word*to
thousands of them that have feared Hirn,
and sought to keep his commandments.

I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

The Fifth Objection.

There are some who remain out qf the
Church, because they think they are not fit
to join. I do not consider myself prepared,

THE FIFTH OBJECTION. 59

or good enough. ; if I were a Christian, I
would gladly join.

You have wrong views of the Church.
If you are to get all you need to make you
a Christian without the aid of the Church,
what use is there of the Church ? It is the
same as if a hungry man, invited to a table,
should say, If I were full and satisfied, I
would then sit down and eat. The Church,
like Christ himself, comes not to save the
righteous, but sinners. It is for all who
feel their need of Him. It is like an ark,
those who would be saved, must come into
it for that very purpose. They must not
say, as the waters are gathering, If I were
saved, I would enter it. No, enter it that
you may be saved. The Church, as a
mother, Gal. 4 : 26, is to give birth and
spiritual nourishment to her children. The
saints are born in her. Ps. 87 : 5. Tou are
to be saved, not out of the Church, but in
her.

60 THE FIFTH OBJECTION.

If you would be a Christian, you must
use the means; these means are in the
Church. First of all, you must be well in-
structed in the things of religion. Place
yourself under instruction. The truth is
all-sufficient, when seriously attended to,
under the influence of the Holy Spirit, to
convince you that you are a sinner, and by
nature lost; and thus your desire for sal-
vation will be deepened, increased, and
rendered solid. You will become truly
penitent. What are you to do now ? You
see that you are by nature lost: where is
help and hope? Salvation is offered to
you through Jesus Christ. Y^ou believe
that He will save you, and you ask by what
means ? You hear that He has instituted
a Church, in which are the means of grace,
by which he prepares sinful men for heaven.
You ask, how can I enter into this system
of grace ? The answer is, repent, believe,
and be baptized. You are penitent — you

THE FIFTH OBJECTION. 61

do belive — then, if you have not been bap-
tized, submit to baptism. Thus you enter
the Church, and into covenant with God.
If you have been baptized in infancy, you
are already a member, and under a solemn
obligation to renew that covenant. Thus,
in the Church, and in covenant with God,
you have a right and a warrant to claim all
the promises and blessings, and use all the
means of grace. Thus you enter the
Church as one who seeks salvation. Seeing
your danger, and feeling the need of help,
you enter the ark where alone there is
safety.

The great question is,. are you penitent
for your sins? Do you feel the need of
salvation? Are you willing and anxious
to be saved ? If so, you are ready to enter
the Church. God is ready to make a cove-
nant with yon. He is willing to give you
a place in His Church, and thus admit you
6

62 THE FIFTH OBJECTION.

to the privileges which He has placed in it,
and by the use of which you are to grow in
grace, and in the knowledge of Christ.

If you look into the Scriptures, you will
find that all such as felt their need of a
Saviour, and who believed that Jesus was
the Saviour whom they needed, and who
in humble faith accepted of Him, were
immediately admitted into fellowship with
the disciples, adopted and initiated as mem-
bers of the Church, and had the privilege
of using all the means of grace in it.
Acts 2 : 37-47.

Are you willing to be saved; and are
you anxious to use all the means instituted
for that end ? If so, then enter the Church.
You will find the means of grace sufficient
for you. Do you feel weak and unworthy ?
Of course you are so, haying but just taken
the first step. Of course you feel weak,
jeing but a babe in Christ. So much the

THE FIFTH OBJECTION. 63

more do you need the spiritual mother, to
nurse and nurture you. The means to
make you stronger are at hand : use them.
Join in with God in a solemn covenant;
profess Christ, at once, before men ; walk
with His people. " Then shall you know,
if you follow on to know the Lord."
Hosea 6 : 3.

You think that you need the same pre-
paration to enter the Church, as you do to
enter Heaven. This is a mistake. In the
Church you are to be prepared for Heaven.
The Church is the Lord's garden. The
plants or seeds, that are put into it, are not
ripe and ready to be gathered as soon as
they are planted, so we are not yet ripe for
HeaVen, when we are planted into the soil
of the Church ; but we are in it to become
such. As a seed wTill never become more
than a seed, unless it is put into the soil ;
so we cannot become fit for Heaven, unless

64 THE FIFTH OBJECTION.

we are planted into the Church. Grace
has a small beginning. Christians are first
babes before they become strong men.
Babes that scarcely know anything of them-
selves, are on that account the more fit to
be in the family ; so babes in Christ, feeble
as they may be, are fit subjects to be in the
Church. The very feeling of want which
infants have, shows how much they need a
mother; so your sense of need and un-
worthiness, shows how much you need the
Church. You will find, by blessed expe-
rience, that just what you need, will come
to you by the right use of the means of
grace. "Those that be planted in the
house of the Lord, shall flourish in the
courts of our God.'' Ps. 92 : 13.

THE SIXTH OBJECTION. 65

I am Waiting on a Friend.

The Sixth Objection.

There are some who profess to feel the
weight of the duty of uniting with the
Church, but they defer it on the plea that
they are wraiting on some friend to join
with them.

This plea looks, at first sight, plausible ;
for, the person upon whom they are wait-
ing, may be a husband, a wife, a sister, a
brother, a parent, or some intimate friend ;
and it is natural that there should be a
desire to be joined, in such a solemn and
important step, by those who are dear to
us. Still this is not a sufficient reason for
deferring a duty of such great moment.

1. Consider, you ought to move in this
matter while God is moving you by His
good Spirit. You feel it now to be your
duty ; but if you put it off, that feeling

66 THE SIXTH OBJECTION.

may pass away, you may lose your anx-
iety; and at last die out of the Church.
It is the Spirit that works this willingness
in you. It is He that so solemnly reminds
you of your duty, and urges you by "a
still small voice" to comply with it ; but
that Spirit will not always strive. When
He withdraws His influences, you may be
given over to hardness of heart.

2. When you delay this duty from year
to year, you do not give the friend whom
you expect to win to a profession, good
proof of your sincerity and earnestness.
Your delay shows your friend that you do
not feel your own danger, out of the
Church, and thus you encourage him in
his own ease. The likelihood is that the
longer you delay, the longer he will do the
same.

3. It is not likely that your delay will
win your friend. As it is easier to draw
persons from good to evil, than from evil

THE SIXTH OBJECTION. 67

to good, it is more likely that he will grad-
ually win you to entire neglect, than that
you will influence him to duty. Especially
will you never be able to press his duty
upon him by deferring your own.

4. You sin by delaying, when you are
convinced of your duty. Your duty is to
act, to go forward. By delaying, you
sin against the light in your own soul ; and
the greatest of all sin is that which is
committed against the light. Can your
sinning on bring any go€>d to your friend ?
Certainly not ; it is a vain hope.

5. When you yourself are in covenant
with God, you may expect that your ex-
ample, your efforts, and your prayers will
prevail more with God and with your
friend, than now. The nearer you draw
to God, the more hope you have of drawing
your friend after you.

6. You may die soon. Life is uncer-
tain— delay is dangerous. Will God jus-

68 THE SIXTH OBJECTION.

tify you, if you die out of the Covenant,
on the ground that you waited on a
friend ? No. Eeligion is to you a per-
sonal interest. You must act for yourself.
Your friend cannot die for you, cannot ap-
pear before God for you. This you must
do for yourself. Then why delay? Let
your resolution be this : Let others do as
they will, I will lay hold upon life eternal.
Momentous interests depend upon your de-
cision. See that you are right. See that
you act in time. .

I have endeavored to remove the diffi-
culties which have stood in your way, and
some of which have, no doubt, kept you
thus far out of the Church. I hope you
have read with a sincere desire to know
the truth. Why s'hould you not? You
yourself are far more solemnly interested
in this matter than any one else. If

THE SIXTH OBJECTION. 69

yon go down to the gates of death without
that preparation which the Scriptures re-
quire, it is you that will be the loser in
that dreadful failure ! Let me ask you,
then, to consider these excuses as solemnly
as you would do upon a death-bed ; and if
you see that they are not sound, cast them
now away forever !

PART SECOND.

ARGUMENTS PRESENTED.

(71)

PART SECOND.
ARGUMENTS PRESENTED.

Will You head on?

I have shown that the grounds on which
persons generally excuse themselves from
uniting with the Church are not solid and
sufficient. The discussion of the subject
would- not be complete if I did not also
give the positive arguments in favor of a
regular public profession of religion. I
most earnestly ask you to read on with
care, while I present you the reasons, one
after another, why you should join the
7 (73)

74 ARGUMENTS PRESENTED.

Church. Permit me, at the beginning, to
remind you, that if you have never made a
profession of religion, you have the greatest
interest in ascertaining whether it is your
duty.

It is exceedingly strange that any one
should for a moment doubt that it is a
duty. It is so clearly reasonable and scrip-
tural, that it seems to me any one who con-
siders the matter seriously can come only
to one conclusion. But the very fact that
there are still so many who are out of the
Church, and w7ho have not hitherto been
persuaded to enter it, is the best proof that
it is still necessary to argue this point.
Many, no doubt, are convinced, who still
refuse to act ; we sincerely hope such may
see the duty so clearly as to be brought to
an immediate decision. Oh, why do you
not act promptly in such a short and un-
certain life? "Why sit we here until we
die r

the first argument. 75

God has instituted the Church.
The First Argument,

It is your duty to join the Church be-
cause God has instituted it. It is of divine
origin. If it were a mere device of man,
a mere human society, having for its object
mere earthly benefits, then we might con-
sult our own convenience and taste in
regard to it. But an institution, of which
God is the author, leaves us no choice but
to obey what it requires.

That the Church is a divine institution,
no one will deny. Even in the Old Testa-
ment we find that God had his Church —
"the Church in the wilderness." Acts 7 :
38. He determined its order, appointed
its officers, its ceremonies, its worship, and
the way by which persons should enter it.
He blest those who were faithful members
of it, and severely punished those who for-

76 THE FIRST ARGUMENT.

sook his covenant and his ordinances ; and
entirely cast those off, who would not sub-
mit to its requirements.

In the New Testament we see, on almost
every page, that Christ came into the world
to establish a Church or kingdom. Hence
we read of the "Kingdom of God." This
expression is often applied to the Church
of God on earth. A kingdom must have
subjects wTho stand in connection with it,
and submit to its laws. That Christ es-
tablished a Church, is evident from his own
declaration: "Thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my Church: and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Matt. 16 : 18. This Church had its rules,
to .which all were required to conform.
Hence the Saviour tells his disciples how
they must proceed when a member sh^ll
trespass, or be guilty of any fault ; they
shall first speak to him privately, and

THE FIRST ARGUMENT. 77

secondly take one or two witnesses, and if

he still refuses to yield, they shall " tell it

unto the Church. " If he "neglect to hear

the Church,' ' then he shall be separated

from them, and be to them as an heathen

man and a publican. Matt. 18 : 15-18.

Can any thing be plainer ? The kingdom,

or Church, which Christ established was

not merely an internal one, consisting of

piety in the heart ; but it had an outward

form, constituting a public society, to which

persons were formally joined, and from

which they were excluded, when they were

guilty of faults worthy of exclusion.

Christ, then, is himself the author of the

Church. He added members to it while

He was upon earth. He is declared to be

the "head of the Church." The Church

is " His body." Eph. 1 : 23. " Christ also

loved the Church, and gave himself for it ;

that he might sanctify and cleanse it with
7 *

78 THE FIRST ARGUMENT.

the washing of water by the word, that He
might present it to Himself a glorious
Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any
such thing." Eph. 5 : 25-27. It is His
design and desire that all should belong to
it, be saved in it, and glorified with, it in
Heaven.

Can you doubt whether it is your duty
to join ? Did He institute it in vain ; and
after He "gave Himself for it," can you
say that you can do as well without it?
Oh, consider this matter again; and see
whether you will not conclude that as
" Christ also loved the Church," it is your
duty to love it ; and that as " He gave Him-
self for it," so it is your duty to give your-
self to its service. Does he love Christ,
who is willing to die out of His Church ?

the second argument. 79

God enjoins it as a Duty.
The Second Argument.

He requires us to join the Church, by a
public profession of religion, and enjoins
it upon us as a duty.

This is evident from various considera-
tions. He has instituted forms of admis-
sion into the Church. In the Old Testa-
ment the rite of admission was circumcision.
Even children could not belong to the cove-
nant of promise without circumcision ; and
adults were also to be admitted by this rite.
" He that is born in thy house, and he that
is bought with thy money, must needs be
circumcised." And if any one neglected
this sign of the covenant, "that soul shall
be cut off from his people ; he hath broken
my covenant " — or neglected my covenant ;
see the German translation. Gen. 17. No
one, then, could be among God's people,

80 THE SECOND ARGUMENT.

without having been regularly admitted by
that rite which God had appointed as the
rite of admission.

In the NewT Testament the initiatory rite
is baptism. Christ himself submitted to it
in order to fulfil all righteousness, and that
He might leave us an example that we
should follow in His footsteps. The com-
mand which He gave his disciples could
not be plainer; " Go ye and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you." Matt.
28:19-20. In Mark 16:16, we are told
what the consequences will be if we refose
to submit to this order. He that would be
wiser than God in this respect, and is deter-
mined to take his own way, must meet the
consequences.

Not only have rites of admission been in-
stituted, but Christ has absolutely declared

THE SECOND ARGUMENT. 81

that every one who will be saved must
publicly profess Him. Consider the solemn
passage in Matt. 10 : 32, 33 : " Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, him
will I confess also before my Father which
is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny
me before men, him will I also deny before
my Father which is in Heaven." See also
^Luke 12 : 8, 9. The kind of confession
here required is a public one, for it must be
"before men." Now, if Christ has insti-
tuted a Church, and also a rite, by which
we are to be admitted into it, and we stand
back from it, is not this denying our attach-
ment to Him ? We may regard ourselves
as confessing Him out of the Church ; but
this is our way, and not God's way, and He
will not own it. How can we better deny
a government, than by publicly refusing to
be a citizen. If Christ has a kingdom in
the world, and we refuse to enter it, is not
that the best evidence that we do not wish

82 THE THIRD ARGUMENT.

Him to rule over us? Nothing can be
plainer. Now Christ declares absolutely,
and without any qualification, that such as
deny Him in this way before men, them
will He deny before God, and the angels.

The example of the first Christians.
The Third Argument.

We find that all those who became pious,
under the preaching of Christ and His
apostles, joined the Church immediately.

Those wTho believed in Christ joined
themselves to Him and His followers. He
enjoined it upon them to deny themselves,
take up the cross, and follow Him. Matt.
16 : 24, He also declared that if any one
refused to do this, he was not worthy of
Him, and could not be His disciple. Matt.
10 : 38. Luke 14 : 27. They were not
merely in a quiet and secret way to adopt

THE THIRD ARGUMENT. 83

the truth, and practise religious principles
alone and for themselves; but they were
to profess themselves openly, always, in all
places2 and "before men," as adherents to
Christ. It was the great sin of Peter that
he denied that he was a follower of Christ,
and refused to be openly considered as such.
The social nature of religion, the love
which it inspired, as well as a hearty desire
to join with their Head and Master in es-
tablishing a visible Church and kingdom
of saints, lead them to draw towards each
other in the sweetest and most intimate
fellowship. Hence we find that, after our
Saviour's death, " the eleven gathered toge-
ther, and them that were with them."
Luke 24 : 33. Immediately after His as-
cension into Heaven, they "all continued
with one accord in prayer and supplication,
with the women, and Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with His brethren." Acts 1 :
14. On the day of Pentecost "they were

84 THE THIRD ARGUMENT.

all with one accord in one place." Acts
2 : 1. After Peter's sermon, on that me-
morable day when many were pricked to
the heart by the truth, "they that gladly
received his word, were baptized : and the
same day there were added unto them about
three thousand souls." Here we see how
a public profession of religion immediately
followed their belief in the truth ; and it is
added "they continued steadfastly in the
apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and' in
breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Thus then it appears quite evident that
the early Christians joined the Church im-
mediately; and it seems that none held
back, for it is not said that only some of
them did so, but " they that gladly received
his word," did so. This also continued
afterwards to be the case, for we are told
that "the Lord added to the Church daily
such as should be saved." Acts 2 : 41-47.
It was a natural result : they that believed

THE THIRD ARGUMENT. 85

in Him, and received His grace, united at
once with the Church.

How then can any one doubt that it is
our duty to make a public profession of
religion by being " added to the Church/'
The example of Christians in the apostolic
times, is as plain as sacred history can
make it. That the apostles established
Churches, with ministers to teach, and
officers to rule, no one who is at all ac-
quainted with the Scriptures can doubt.
These Churches included all who professed
to be friends of the Gospel. Piety, a
public profession of religion by being ad-
ded to the Church, and operating with it,
was with them identical. Acts V. 11,
VIII. 1—3, XI. 22—26, XII. 5, XIV. 23—
2T, XV. 22, XVni. 12, XX. 28. Eead
these passages, and then decide whether
you can be in sympathy of spirit with the
disciples and early Christians, without
being united with the Church. If you are

86 THE THIRD ARGUMENT.

not like them on earth, can you expect to
be with them in heaven? Show me a
good man or woman in the whole Bible
who was not a friend of the Church, and
who did not belong to it. There were per-
sons in the Church that were not pious —
but were there any out of it that were
pious ? Do you say the thief on the Cross?
I answer that it is doubtful whether ever
he had an opportunity to profess Christ
before ; for it is not likely that he had ever
seen Him till then ; and, moreover, he did
then confess Christ publicly, as publicly as
possible ; and expressed a desire to be
with Him in His kingdom. Can you say
that you have had no opportunity to make
a profession of religion, when the Church,
stands with open doors before you, and
when you are invited and warned, Sabbath
after Sabbath, from the pulpit, and daily
by your own conscience and God's provi-
dences ?

THE FOURTH ARGUMENT. 87

Union with Christ is Through the
Church.

The Fourth Argument.

It is necessary to be united with the
Church, because, according to the Scrip-
tures, we are united to Christ through the
Church.

In order to convince ourselves of this,
we need only look at the representations
which are given in Scripture, of the union
of Christ with His Church, and of the
Church with her members. We find that
this is set forth by the symbol of a human
body.

Christ is the head. The Church is the
body. Christians are the members of that
body. This is seen in the following pas-
sages : " God has put all things under His
(Christ's) feet, and gave Him to be head
over all things to the Church, which is His

88 THE FOURTH ARGUMENT.

body." Eph. 1 : 22—23. Again: "And
He is the head of the body, the Church."
Col. 1 : 18. Now that Christians are
united to Christ, their head, by being
united with the body, is seen in 1 Cor. 12,
where this matter is discussed at length. —
"•For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that
one body, being many, are one body ; so
also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we
all baptized into one body." The Apostle
then goes on to show, that as the eye, the
ear, the hand, the foot, as members of that
body, have all different offices, and yet ard
pervaded by one life, so are all the differ-
ent individual Christians joined in the same
body, in Christ. "Now ye are the body
of Christ, and members in particular."

The Apostle, in Eph. 4, 15 — 16, where
he uses the same comparison, shows that
we can only be joined with Christ, the
head, and grow up in Him, by being joined
with the Church, His body. We are to

THE FOURTH ARGUMENT. 89

"grow up in Him in all things, which is
the head, even Christ : From whom the
whole body, fitly joined together and com-
pacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part, maketh increase of
the body unto the edifying of .itself in
love." See also Eph. 2 : 20—22, and 1
Cor. 10 : 17.

This is a solemn truth, and it ought to
be well considered by all who are out of
the Church. Out of the Church, according
to the Apostle, we are like an arm, an ear,
or an eye, out of the body — dead ! The
life of the Head does not flow into us, un-
less we are in the body. As the body is
between the limbs and the head, so the
Church is between the members and
Christ; and we can only be joined with
Him through the Church. In the Church
is His spirit and His grace. In the Church
are the means by which we are to seek and
to And union with Him. In the Church
8*

90 THE FOURTH ARGUMENT.

are His ministers to show the way to life ;
there are the sacraments as nourishment,
as signs and seals of His grace ; and there
are all the ordinances adapted and designed
to renew us into His image unto perfect
men in Christ.

It is not necessary to discuss the ques-
tion whether we can be Christians out of
the Church. It is a useless question, and
to such the Saviour Himself gave no an-
swer. It is just as in that case where one
came to Christ, and asked, " Lord, are
there few that be saved?" The Saviour
answered his question by saying, " Strive
to enter in at the strait gate!" That is
as much as if he had said, You have more
important matters to engage your atten-
tion ; — whether few or many are saved,
what is that to thee ? See to it that you
are saved. So here — if you ask, can no
one be saved out of the Church ? we an-

THE FOURTH ARGUMENT. 91

swer, You can be saved in the Church ;
see that you do not neglect it. This is
the first duty which claims your attention.
When you once feel yourself saved in the
Church, rest assured you will have no de-
sire to ask this question. When once
happily housed in your Father's house, in
joyful fellowship with his children, and
feasting upon his grace and love, you will
not ask whether one can enjoy the same
blessings out in the cold and dreary bar-
rens of the world.

It is, moreover, the same as if wTe
should ask : Cannot the eye see, and the
ear hear, when cut loose from the body?
Cannot the branches bring fruit when cut
off from the vine ? Cannot the thirsty and
hungry soul satisfy his wants away from
the fountain of life, and away from the
table which God has provided for His
children? It is enough for us to know

92 THE FOURTH ARGUMENT.

that Grod does not say that we can be saved
out of the Church! If we can be, he has
not revealed the fact to us. He has no-
where advised us to stay out of the
Church. He has nowhere promised us
blessings for so doing. On the contrary,
He has thrown all His exhortations, His
warnings, His instructions, and His promi-
ses with awful solemnity on the other side.
The Church is evidently His delight.
" The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more
than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious
things are spoken of thee, 0 city of God."
The Church is the birth-place of the saints.
" And of Zion it shall be said, This and
that man was born in her: and the Highest
Himself shall establish her. The Lord
shall count, when He writeth up the
people, that this man was born there : all
my springs are in thee." Ps. 87. See also
Ps. 48.

THE FOURTH ARGUMENT. 93

As long as any one has no desire, and is
not willing to join the Church, it is the
best possible proof that he is not yet a
Christian. For a desire and hope to be
saved out of the Church, is a desire and
hope to be saved out of God's way ; and as
long as any one is not willing to submit to
God's will and way, his heart is not right
with God. It is with him just as it was
with Kaaman ; he wished to be cleansed
of his leprosy, but not in the way which
the prophet prescribed ; but he was not
healed till he took the prophet's wray. 2
Kings 5. Refer to that chapter, and read
it carefully ; it furnishes a solemn lesson to
all such as wish to be saved in their own
way — out of the Church.

After God has established His Church
on earth, after He has instituted its ordi-
nances, after Christ has " given Himself
for it," and preserved it amid the ragings

94 THE FOURTH ARGUMENT.

of the heathen, and the tumultuations of
the world's history, for nearly six thousand
years — after all this, it is next to blasphemy
to say that we can be saved as well out of
the Church as in it ! What greater insult
can be offered to God ? and yet this is
done in Christian lands, and with Bible in
hand ! Oh, human nature, how art thou
depraved and fallen from God ! How al-
most hopeless is human self-will and pride !
Let me beg you, my dear fellow-traveller
to eternity, to consider well, before you
peril your eternal interests upon such a
frail hope. Behold now, "What confi-
dence is this wherein thou trustedst ?
Thou sayest, I have counsel and strength
for the war. Now, behold, thou trustest
upon the staff of this bruised reed, on
which if a man lean, it will go into his
hand and pierce it." 2 Kings 18-21.

THE FIFTH ARGUMENT. . 95

you cannot obey christ out of the
Church.

The Fifth Argument.

It is the duty of every one to join the
Church, because it is impossible to obey
Christ in all things without it.

You will judge at once that we allude to
the use of the Sacraments — Baptism and
the Lord's Supper. Some persons make
very light of these ordinances. To many
they are but forms, which they think may
easily be set aside. The chief reason why
these ordinances are not more valued by
them, is because they make so little of the
Church in which they are administered.
Let it be remarked, however, that those
who place little value on these ordinances,
have not the Saviour for their example.
He did not only teach men to love God,
and to serve Him with a sincere heart, but

96 THE FIFTH ARGUMENT.

He taught them also to attend to all the in-
stituted ordinances of religion. While He
lived upon earth, He was not only circum-
cised and baptized, but He attended upon
every Jewish Passover that was celebrated
in His time ; and when He had instituted
the Holy Sacrament of the Last Supper
He partook of it with His disciples. This
He did that He might fulfil all righteous-
ness, and leave us an example, that we
should follow in His footsteps. Away with
that religion which does not lead us to the
ordinances — it is not from Christ, our
Saviour.

That it is the imperative duty of all who
would be saved to be baptized, and to par-
take of the Lord's Supper, is as plain as it
can be made in the Scriptures. Both are
absolutely, and without condition, enjoined
upon adults. "Be baptized." Matt. 3 : 13.
Mark 16 : 16. Acts 2 : 38-41. Acts 8 : 12.
Acts 22 : 16. 1 Cor. 12 : 13. Gal. 3 : 27.

THE FIFTH ARGUMENT. 97

u Do this in remembrance of me." Luke
22 : 19. Mark 14 : 22. Matt. 26 : 26. 1
Cor. 11 : 23-29. From these passages, and
many more, it will be seen that the use of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are solemnly
enjoined duties; and they dare not be ne-
glected — they will not be neglected by a
Christian. As long as they are neglected,
it is the best possible sign that there is no
piety in the heart. For how can piety
exist without leading to obedience ? The
Saviour himself has said, "If a man love
me, he will keep my words." John 14 : 23.
And again : " If ye love me, keep my com-
mandments." Verse 15. Listen also to
John, the gentle and lovely disciple ; how
strongly does he express himself on this
point: "He that saith, I know Him, and
keepeth not His commandments, is a liar,
and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2 : 4.
Hear that, all ye who say you love the
Saviour, and have never yet obeyed His
9

98 THE FIFTH ARGUMENT.

dying command : " Do this in remembrance
of me." Your hearts are deceiving you.
There is no evidence on earth that can
prove you to love Christ, as long as that
love does not lead you to obedience. If an
angel from Heaven (Gal. 1 : 8) should
preach a different doctrine from that which
is here so plainly taught, he is not to be
believed. " For this is the love of God, that
we keep His commandments. " 1 John 5 : 3.
Thus, then, you see that to be a Chris-
tian it is absolutely necessary to obey
Christ in the Sacraments. This you can
only do by joining the Church; for Christ
has appointed Officers, and made laws, in
His Church ; and those who will enjoy its
privileges must submit to its rules. If
there were no rules, so that any one, and
every one, might come to the table of the
Lord, there could be no order, and indeed
no Church. " God is not the author of
confusion, but of peace, as in all Churches

THE FIFTH ARGUMENT. 99

of the saints." 1 Cor. 14:33. Hence,
"Let all things be clone decently and in
order." Verse 40. Hence, also, it is made
the duty of the officers in the Church to
guard its purity, and to exclude any who
disgrace their profession. See 1 Cor. V.
This order could not be kept up, were it
not required that all who will partake of
the ordinances in the Church, should con-
nect themselves with it in a regular way.

You have now seen, that if we will be
Christians we must use the Sacraments.
You have seen also that these are in the
Church, and can be allowed only to such
as are regularly connected with it. Hence,
in order to keep the Saviour's command-
ments, you must join the Church. Out of
the Church, you are away from the Sacra-
ments ; and how can you be pious without
a covenant, without means of grace, and
without obedience ?

100 THE SIXTH ARGUMENT.

It is your Duty to give your Influence
to the Church.

The Sixth Argument.

It is your duty to belong to the Church,
because it is only in this way that you can
stand on the side of religion in the eyes of
the world.

It will be in vain for you to say to others
that you are a friend of Christ, of His
Church, and its ordinances, as long as you
stand out of its sacred enclosure. Your
example will speak louder than your wrords ;
and those over whom your influence, in any
way, extends, will do as you do, and not as
you say. Thus, as long as you are out of
the Church, the whole weight of your in-
fluence lies against it.

In this way vast injury is done by the
silent, but effective, power of example.
Especially do parents, in this way, by their

THE SIXTH ARGUMENT. 101

example, infuse into the minds of their
children a. secret disrespect for religion and
its ordinances. There is not the least
doubt that many children, growing up
around uncovenanted parents, have been
kept out of the Church and out of Heaven,
just because they could silence the claims
of religion upon them, by the example of
parents. They may speak piously to their
children, but what weight has that, so long
as their own hearts are not led to obedience
in what God requires of all in connection
with His Church. The child will think
thus : if you are sincere in speaking of the
necessity of piety, why do not you profess
it? It is natural for us to feel suspicious,
when one points out to us a way, in which
he is not himself willing to walk. It is
only, then, by making a profession of reli-
gion yourself, that you can be considered
on the Lord's side by others.

It is on this account that wre are con-
9*

102 THE SIXTH ARGUMENT.

stantly exhorted in the Scripture to sepa-
rate ourselves from the world, and stand
with the people of the Lord, on the Lord's
side. "Bej^e not unequally yoked toge-
ther with unbelievers : for what fellowship
hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
and what communion hath light with dark-
ness ? And what concord hath Christ with
Belial ? or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel ? Wherefore come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith the
Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ;
and I will receive you ; and will be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons
and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
2 Cor. 6 : 14-18. Hence also wTe are
" called to be saints" — that is, holy ones:
not only holy ones in the sense of inward
purity, but also in the sense of outward
separation. The apostle, in 1 Peter 2 : 9,
shows plainly that those who profess to be
pious, ought to form a holy society, in in-

THE SIXTH ARGUMENT. 103

ward as well as outward fellowship with,
each other. " Ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a pecu-
liar people." He also points out the reason
why they are thus called out from the
world : " That ye should show forth the
praises of Him who hath called you from
darkness into his marvellous light." How
can oar example tell upon others, as long
as we are in position among them? — and
how can we honor the Church, as long as
we stand aloof from it. Or how can we
be a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
an holy nation, and a peculiar people, as
long as we are not separate from the world.
We must stand out publicly on the side of
the Church with those who "witness a
good profession," and, in the face of the
world, let our light shine. This alone can
be properly called confessing Christ " before
men," and letting our "light shine before
men."

104 THE SIXTH ARGUMENT.

Let it not be forgotten that our influence
is also a talent with which we must glorify
God. You have influence ; and how many
perhaps are kept out of the Church by
your example ! How many perhaps would
follow you if you made a profession of re-
ligion ! And among those which you could
draw after you, are your best friends — per-
haps a wife, a husband, a sister, a brother,
or children ; for it is over these you have
the most influence. Will you then go on
in disobedience to the command of your
suffering Lord, with so many hanging to
your skirts, and following in the fearful
wake of your influence and example into a
hopeless grave !

This consideration appeals especially,
with awful force, to such as have, on ac-
count of talents, learning, wealth, office or
position, more than ordinary influence in
society ; and whose example has weight in
the minds of many. " Have any of the

THE SIXTH ARGUMENT. • 105

rulers, or of the Pharisees believed on
Him?" This is the question which arises
in the heart of many in the humbler walks
of life, when the claims of religion are
pressed upon them. If religion is so im-
portant^ and if a connection with the
Church is so indispensable, why do not all
our Physicians, Lawyers, Legislators, and
eminent men, become members of the
Church ? They are intelligent, and capable
of weighing the claims of duty, and are
we not safe in following their example.
When they are sometimes almost over-
powered by the excellency of the truth,
and are inwardly moved to fall in with it,
still the example, the apparent indifference
of the "rulers," makes them waver; and,
half in doubt whether they shall yield to
inward conviction or trust to their exam-
ples, they ask: " Do the rulers know indeed
that this is the Christ ?" John VII.

We remember of having heard of an

106 THE SIXTH ARGUMENT.

eminent statesman who once offered 1000
dollars to any one who should reform his
profligate son ; but we did not hear that
any one attempted to secure the prize.
This could all have been spared, had the
parent brought up his family in the Church,
and under the trainings of grace, leading
the way by his own example and influence.
— Was it not natural that the son should
have confidence in the example of so
honored a parent, and thus be content out
of the Church and covenant of God, in
which alone there is safety ? — Was it not
natural for the son, when the claims of re-
ligion were presented, to ask: "Has my
Father believed on Him?" Alas! if any
one raise children in the uncoven anted
wilds of the world, instead of the garden
of the Lord, he must blame only himself
if they turn out to be " degenerate plants
of a strange vine." Themselves they must
blame when at last they are forced to mourn

THE SEVENTH ARGUMENT. 107

bitterly over their ruin, " 0 my son Abso-
lom ! my son, my son Absalom ! would to
God I had died for thee, 0 Absalom, my
son, my son !"

Your Course would destroy the Church.
The Seventh Argument.

If all did as you do, there could be no
Church and no public service in the world.

There can be no nation without citizens ;
and so there can be no Church without
members. If all, therefore, stood aloof as
you do, and refused to unite with others in
keeping up the Church's eternal organiza-
tion, it could not exist. True, this will
never be — Christ will always raise up those
who will sustain His Church; but so far
as your influence and example reach, their
direct tendency is to destroy the Church,
for which Christ died. All that is neces-

108 THE SEVENTH ARGUMENT.

sary to bring about this dreadful result is,
that all others should think as you think,
and do as you do. Then, soon, there would
be no Churches, no public assemblies of
God's people, no professing people of God
crowding to the Sacramental Table to cele-
brate the Saviour's dying love, and obey
His dying command. Do you desire to see
such consequences ? We cannot think so ;
and yet you are giving the full weight of
your influence and example toward bring-
ing about this result !

It is a true and a just rule: "We must
do nothing ourselves which we would not
be willing should become a general rule for
all." Are you willing that the rule you
adopt, and the course you pursue, should
become the rule and course of all ? Cer-
tainly you are not. It is doubtful whether
you would advise your best friend, or your
children, to do, in this respect, as you do.
And if the whole world should suddenly

THE SEVENTH ARGUMENT. 109

throw up their interest in the Church, and
withdraw from it, you yourself would be
alarmed. For certainly you acknowledge
that Christ established a Church, and that
it ought to continue to exist. Is it not
then your duty to join it and to aid in keep-
ing it up, just as much so as it is the duty
of any one else.

Those, also, who now belong to the
Church, could have offered the same objec-
tions, and made the same excuses, which
you now present ; and these excuses would
have had just as much weight in their case
as they have in yours. How plain is it,
then, that it is the deceitfulness of the
heart, the allurements of the world, the
flesh, and the devil, and a wicked nature
which is naturally averse to duty — it is
these that keep you back from making a
profession of religion, and from union
with the Church. The Holy Scriptures
tell us that " the heart is deceitful above
10

110 THE EIGHTH ARGUMENT.

all things, and desperately wicked." If
we follow its suggestions, it will lead us
astray. 0 do not entrust to it the decision
of this solemn question.

It will do You great Good.
The Eighth Argument.

You ought to join the Church because
of the excellent effect which it would exert
upon you.

It would be a difficult and almost end-
less task, to exhibit all the good effects
which will result to you from a right con-
nection with the Church. They are as ex-
tensive and various as the influences of
religion itself, which it is the great aim
and end of the Church to beget and unfold
in the heart and life of all. Many of its
influences are so silent that they cannot be

TIXE EIGHTH ARGUMENT. Ill

traced in their details. Gently as the dew

do its cheering, refreshing, and life-giving

influences distil upon the heart ; and it is

because these influences are so gentle and

silent, that they are so difficult fully to

appreciate. "I will be as the dew unto

Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast

forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches

shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the

olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They

that dwell under His shadow shall return ;

they shall revive as the corn, and grow as

the vine." Hos. 14:5, 6, 7.

He that is in the Church, is as a plant in

good soil — warmed by the sun of heaven,

refreshed by its showers, and made glad in

I
the smiles of the Lord. The silent but

effectual manner in which those who stand
in this kingdom of grace are pervaded and
transformed by the power of grace, is beau-
tifully set forth by the Saviour in some of
His parables. The grace of Christ trans-

112 THE EIGHTH ARGUMENT.

fuses itself like leaven. Matt. 13 : 33. It
is also like a mustard-seed, which gradually
and silently becomes a great tree from the
smallest of seeds. Matt. 13 : 31, 32. And
again : " So is the kingdom of God, as if
a man should cast seed into the ground ;
and should sleep, and rise night and day,
and the seed should spring and grow up,
he knoweth not how. For the earth bring-
eth forth fruit of herself — first the blade,
then the ear, after that the full corn in the
ear. But when the fruit is brought forth,
immediately he putteth in the sickle, be-
cause the harvest is come." Mark 4 :
26-29. So silently, gradually, but surely,
does the Church "bring forth fruit of her-
self;' ' and so rich is the harvest wnich
those reap in the end who have been
planted in this vineyard of the Lord.

The good effects which result from a
regular connection with the Church, can
be seen in many excellent specimens of

THE EIGHTH ARGUMENT. 113

Christian character cultivated and perfected
in its bosom. The finest specimens of
human excellence which the world has ever
seen, were in the Church. This would be
seen and acknowledged more than it is,
were it not that most of persons, in view-
ing the Church, fix their eyes first and only
upon the Judases and Peters — who deny
and betray Christ. Many a good ripe
Christian lives and dies in the Church
while no one says, " See a righteous man,
let us imitate him ;" but there are few
hypocrites w7ho are not pointed out by non-
professors as standing arguments against
the Church, which lead men to the awful
and ruinous conclusion : " We are as good
out of the Church as in it." But who will
deny that the loveliest Christian characters
in society are formed in the Church? We
will venture the assertion, that if you will
select from among your acquaintances five
persons in wHom you would repose un-
10*

114 THE EIGHTH AKGUMENT.

bounded confidence, — persons in wliose
hands you would entrust your property
while you live, and your children when
you die, — we will venture to say that those
five persons are professors of religion.
Many an aged patriarch have you seen,
who had been " planted into the house of
the Lord" in youth, nourished by the ordi-
nances of the Church, and ripened for
glory, till he was gathered " like as a shock
of corn cometh in his season. " The com-
munity felt his loss ; like Stephen of old,
" devout men carried him to his burial,
and made a great lamentation over him ;"
and, returning from his honored grave,
many sighs were heard in the crowd : " A
good man hath gone to his rest !"

How can it be otherwise than that union
with the Church should have a blessed
effect ? There the heart finds in sabbatic
hours, its quiet habitation. There God
speaks, through His ministers, words of

THE EIGHTH ARGUMENT. 115

instruction- — words of admonition — words
of exhortation — words of warning — words
of promise and consolation. There the
sacraments are dispensed — there His praise
is sung — there prayer is addressed to Him
who is the hearer of prayer, and the re-
warder of all them that diligently seek
Him. It is the place which God has
chosen for His peculiar dwelling-place on
earth ; and He is known in " her palaces
for a refuge," as He is not known in all the
earth beside.

I love her gates, I love the road ;

The Church, adorned with grace,
Stands like a palace built for God,

To show His milder face.

Who will deny that it has a good in-
fluence upon the heart to be in the Church;
and, in covenant with God, to receive all
the blessings which the covenant promises?
It cannot be that you doubt this. If, then,
the Church has such blessings in store,

116 THE NINTH ARGUMENT.

why do you continue to deprive yourself
of them ? Why do you neglect them
while they are passing so fast away, and
will soon be beyond your reach forever.
Is it thus that you will purchase for your-
self bitterness on a dying bed, and eternal
regret when the harvest is past, and the
summer of life is ended ? " If thou hadst
known, even thou, at least in this thy day,
the things wrhich belong unto thy peace !
but now they are hid from thine eyes."

Look at the Solemn Consequences.

The Ninth Argument.

There is another reason why you should
join the Church, closely allied to the one
last mentioned. It is this: Not to unite
with it will bring injury upon you, and,

THE NINTH ARGUMENT. 117

through you, upon others after you ; espe-
cially if you are a parent or ever will be.

All the good effects of which we have
just spoken, you will of course lose. Be-
ing out of covenant with God, you cannot
claim His blessings, and He is not pledged
to bestow them. He gives you a thousand
promises, if you will confess Him, and
identify yourself with His Church, king-
dom, and people ; but not one promise, as
long as you walk in disobedience. By
looking at His dealings with His people in
the Old Testament, you will see that He
blessed those who were in covenant with
Him ; and forsook those who refused the
covenant. Oh, what a lesson does the
w7hole transaction of God with the Jews
teach in this respect ! The wThole history
of the Jews is a commentary on the cove-
nant and promise: "He that is born in
thy house, and he that is bought with thy
money, must needs be circumcised : and my

118 THE NINTH ARGUMENT.

covenant shall be in your flesh for an ever-
lasting covenant" The whole history also
of the unfaithful portion of the Jews, and
of the uncovenanted nations around, is a
commentary on the threat : " And the un-
circumcised man-child, whose flesh of his
foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall
be cut off from his people; he hath broken
my covenant." Gen. 17 : 13-14.

The same God still lives ! He is still
the same in His dealings with those that
are in covenant with Him, and with those
that are not. Though in the New Testa-
ment we have a "better covenant, which
was established upon better promises,"
(Heb. 8 : 6) yet it is a covenant still ; and
those who would receive its blessing, must
enter into covenant relations with God. In
the New Testament, as well as in the Old,
God stands before you, offering to confess
you, if you confess Him. Listen to His
gracious words : "I will dwell in them, and

THE NINTH ARGUMENT. 119

walk in them; and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people. Wherefore,
come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing ; and I will receive you ;
and will be a Father unto you, and ye
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord Almighty." 2 Cor. 6 : 16-18. This
is God's offer to you. Thus He stands and
pleads with a sinful worm !

" Oh how canst thou renounce, and hope to be for-
given !"

"Will you die out of covenant with God ?
Will you die out of the Church? Will
you die without any marks of sacramental
blessings upon you ? Will you die without
some seal placed upon you by the hand of
God Himself, giving you some comfortable
encouragement to hope in His mercy ?

Do you say you believe and hope in
Christ? I answer, as we have already seen

120 THE NINTH ARGUMENT.

in a former part of this treatise, graciously
Christ is only in His Church. The
Church is " His body." If you will be
in Him, you must be in the Church, as
members are in the body. If you obey
Him not, in His ordinances, then you are
none of His ! Oh hear it, unless you obey
Him, you are none of His ! For He Him-
self says, "He that hath my command-
ments, and Jceepeth them, he it is that loveth
me." "If a man love me, he will keep my
words." His words are, " Do this in re-
membrance of me." His words are, "Con-
fess me before men." You keep not His
words, you obey not His commands — even
not His dying command ! Hear it : thus
disobeying, you are not His! — you are not
His ! Out of the Church, without Baptism
and the Lord's Supper — out of the Church,
without a living union with the Head,
through the body, you are a member cut
off, and dead ! Hear it, cut off and dead !

THE NINTH ARGUMENT. 121

Are you a parent ? Then in addition to
the loss you yourself sustain, out of the
Church, you make your children heirs of
this loss. "Why did salvation come to
the house of Zaccheus ?" Luke 19. The
answer is given by Christ Himself: " For-
asmuch as he also is a son of Abraham."
Here God remembered the covenant He
had made with the parents of Zaccheus —
that covenant included "their seed."
Now Zaccheus shares its fruits. There
were other houses in Jericho, but Jesus
goes to the house of Zaccheus, because he
also is a son of Abraham — and He took
salvation with Him when He went ! Here
we see the benefit which children receive
from the covenant relation into which they
are placed by their parents. Have you no
desire to secure them to your children ; so
that when you are dead, God may be the
God of your offspring ?

There is not the least doubt that many
11

122 THE NINTH ARGUMENT.

children receive the gracious visits of
God's grace by virtue of the fact that their
parents were in covenant, and secured the
covenant also to them. Neither is there
any doubt, on the other hand, that many
are lost, because they were not only left
out of the Church by their parents, but
encouraged to remain out by the full
weight of their parents' influence and ex-
ample. Left on the uncovenanted wilds
of the world, without God and without
hope, " aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers to the covenants of
promise," it is not strange that they first
despise, then wander, and at last perish.

To illustrate this solemn and alarming
truth we may refer to a fact, and there are
many like it. Two brothers came from
Switzerland, four generations back. The
one was in the Church, and remained in
it, a faithful member ; bringing up all his

THE NINTH ARGUMENT. 123

children in it. Piety is still honored in all
the branches of that family in the fourth
generation !

" If pure and holy is the root, such are the branches
too."

The other became a sot, and of course
cast off the covenant for himself and for
his children. Not only his drunkenness,
but the curse of being out of the Church
can be distinctly traced in that family in
the fourth generation ! Such are the
solemn and far-reaching consequences of
our acts upon our posterity.

Will you, as a parent, take the dreadful
responsibility of bringing up your children
out of the Church, and confirm them in
that position by the influence of your ex-
ample? Look down the history of your
own family through four generations, —
think of the momentous consequehces for
good or for evil which you may entail

124 THE NINTH ARGUMENT.

upon them, and then decide whether you
will live and die out of the Church ! Will
you be the head of a stream of results,
which will become wider, wilder, and
darker, after you are dead, roll down its
ever-increasing consequences into eternity,
and cause you, when you meet them in
the judgment, to curse the day in which
you and they were born ! Certainly this
is something to be seriously thought of
before it is too late.

"We ought always to act as in view of
death, and the judgment. These solemn
realities are drawing nearer every day !
Soon earth, with all its interests and cares,
will recede from our dying vision. Oh !
how bitter must the last hour be to us, if
we have all our life lived in the neglect of
what is so plainly our solemn duty, and
blessed privilege ! Let me beseech you, as
you are about to close this book?< to seek
in the Church, the home of your spirit;

THE NINTH ARGUMENT. 125

and you will find it, as the patriarch did,
"the gate of Heaven. " You will never
obtain true rest and peace, till you find it
in the bosom of the Church. " Look
upon Zion, the city of our solemnities;
thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem a quiet
habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be
taken down ; not one of the stakes there-
of shall ever be removed, neither shall any
of the cords thereof be broken." All else
is unsettled and unstable. Empires fall,
and nations die ; one generation cometh
and another goeth : families pass away
from earth, and all flesh is as the grass be-
fore the scythe of the mower. All is rest-
less and vanishing, but the firm founda-
tions of the eternal Kingdom ! Oh, seek
rest in it.

People of the living God !
I have sought the world around ;
Paths of sin and sorrow trod,

Peace and comfort nowhere found ;

11*

126 A HYMN.

Now to you my spirit turns,

Turns — a fugitive unblest ;
Brethren, when your altar burns,
Oh ! receive me into rest.

A HYMN.

I love Thy Kingdom, Lord,
The house of Thine abode;

The Church our blest Redeemer saved
With His own precious blood.

I love Thy Church, 0 God!

Her walls before Thee stand,
Dear as the apple of Thine eye,

And graven on Thy hand.

If e'er to bless Thy sons,

My voice or hands deny,
These hands let useful skill forsake,

This voice in silence die.

If e'er my heart forget

Her welfare or her wo,
Let every joy this heart forsake,

And every grief overflow.

A HYMN, 127

For her my tears shall fall,

For her my prayers ascend ;
To her my cries and toils be given,

Till toils and cares shall end.

Beyond my highest joy,

I prize her heavenly ways;
Her sweet communion, solemn vows,

Her hymns of love and praise.

Jesus. Thou friend divine,

Our Saviour, and our King,
Thy hand, from every snare and foe,

Shall great deliverance bring.

Sure as Thy truth shall last,

To Zion shall be given
The brightest glories earth can yield,

And brighter bliss of Heaven.

THE END.

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CAREFULLY REVISED BY AN AMERICAN TEACHER.

Extract from the Preface.

"I wish especially to direct the attention of parents and teachers to the ne-
cessity of possessing- a work calculated to save them much fatigue in the respon-
sible office of education. The subjects contained in it may seem in themselrea
unimportant or insignificant. But do not children often ask a variety of ques-
tions on those very subjects at times when the parent or teacher is not at leisure
to answer them properly] — questions on the most simple subjects, asked in
such a manner as to puzzle the cleverest. Besides, is there one thina: used by
us in the daily business of life without its historical interest? Decidedly not;
although, from their commonness, many are passed by as unimportant. I con-
sider that to trace them to their source is not only amusing, bat highly instruc-
tive ; for there is scarcely one which is not connected with some epoch import-
ant in the history of the world."

OPINIONS OP THE PRESS.

This very neat little book contains a mass of valuable information, condensed
in the form of questions and answers, relating to familiar things, about which
children, and even grown persons, need to be instructed — the history of
familiar things and the events which led to their discovery, with explanations
of natural phenomena, <fcc. <tc. For example : there are chapters explanatory
of Dew, Rain. Atmosphere, Lightning, Twilight, Aurora, &c. <fcc. : of the pro-
ductions of the earth, such as Corn. Barley, Oats. Potatoes, <tc. ; of manufac-
tures, as Calico, Cloth, Baize. Linen, Stockings, Shoes. Glass, Mirrors, Specta-
cles, Mariners' Compass, Magnetic Telegraph, &c. <tc. : of Metals, Precious
Stones, Architecture, and kindred arts : Music. Painting, and the Arts and Sci-
ences generally. It is just such a book as every parent should have to instruct
his child from, and as could be used in a school with great advautage and plea-
sure to the pupils. — Traveller.

This volume comprises a large amount of information in regard to every thing
that man eats, drinks, breathes, wears, uses for building, for ornament or luxury.
It is a kind of encyclopedia, defining the name, and often the mode of procuring
or manufacturing, almost every thing used in common life ; and can readily be
consulted.— Christian Mirror.

The varied phenomena of earth and air, fire and water, with most of the im-
portant elements in uature and art. that constitute the globe a fitting habitation
for our race, are set forth in this volume, in a condensed, pleasant, and instruc-
tive form. — Episcopal Recorder.

A novel and very useful peculiarity of this cater;histic compendium is the in-
sertion of the meaning of the most difficult words or terms occurring in each
answer at the end of it. The work, without these derivative explanations, js
copious, accurate, explicit, and well calculated to blend in the youthful mind
entertainment which shall be impressive, with instruction which shall be per-
manent.— Hood's Magazine.

willement's catechism op familiar things.

Opinions of the Press.

This is one of the most valuable encyclopaedias for the use of children, we
have ever seen. It contains many subjects of great importance to the rising
generation, and is written in a plain style, divested as far as possible of all tech-
nicalities, treating, in a small space, of the various phenomena of nature, the
general history of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, and an outline
of the arts and sciences. Parents, get it for your children, and by so doing add
to their knowledge, and save yourselves considerable trouble.— Penn. Telegraph,

We can very highly recommend this book. It contains a large amount of
information that immediately concerns every human being. For family reading
it is especially attractive, and will well repay perusal. It treats of the various
phenomena of nature, the leading chai-aeteristics and general history of the ob-
jects of the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, and the fundamental
truths of the arts and sciences. The language of the writer is simple and per-
spicuous, and will therefore interest juvenile readers. — City Item.

This is a work of very deep interest, and of great value. The mineral, the
animal, and the vegetable kingdoms, all pass under review, and are treated in
a manner to develop and impress the great facts, connected with each, on the
mind of the student. The arts and sciences also come in for a place, and are
treated in a similar manner. Children, youth, and families, as a whole, may
gather much instruction by this book, on the important topics alluded to.—
Christian Chronicle.

We have here a great mass of information condensed within very narrow
limits, touching almost everything that we have to do with in common life.
There is hardly any thing connected with our food or raiment, our dwellings,
our occupations, or oar amusements, but what is here very intelligently and
agreeably discoursed upon, even to the comprehension of a child. If children
study it well, there is a great chance that they will be wiser in some things
than their parents.'— Puritan Recorder.

The work is just such an one as we have long thought would be very accept-
able to the public, and especially to school teachers. It or something as near
like it as possible should be in every school m the laud. — Courier.

It is designed for use in schools and families, and furnishes a most excellent
and agreeable method of imparting useful knowledge on all familiar subjects,
their history, their character, <kc. — Bulletin.

This little work well deserves extensive circulation ; for truly it contains
"muitum in parvo" of such information as is most likely to arrest the attention
of youthful minds. The style is easy and pleasant, all technical phrases care-
fully omitted, and the book well adapted to its purpose of providing " an impor-
tant auxiliary in the dissemination of useful and entertaining knowledge."—
Sartains Magazine.

This book presents a mass of information, in a condensei form, on all kinds
of things which enter into the every-day concerns of life ; the air we breathe,
the food we eat, the raiment we are clothed with, the habitations we dwell in,
the constitution of our mortal frame, arts, commerce and manufactures, are
cleverly treated of by Question and Answer, and form a mine of useful informa-
tion. We recommend it to the attention of parents and tutors. — Essex Standard.

A vast quantity of information is so admirably condensed, and so much really
useful knowledge is conveyed in so pleasing and intelligible a style, that we can
honestly award praise We congratulate Mrs. Willement upon having success-
fully accomplished her task, and heartily recommend her meritorious and un-
pretending work. — Norfolk Chronicle.

A useful contribution to the cause of Learning made easy. — Athemxum.

A compact and well-printed edition of a most useful book for children ; and
indeed, a book of reference for all.— Jirroid's Weekly Newspaper.

We confidently recommend it to all who are intrusted with the education of
children —Ipswich Express.

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